Cecelia Jeanette Tangeman

CECELIA JEANETTE TANGEMAN was born in 1925 to Roy and Ida Elizabeth (Beth) (Wilkins) Battrell in Des Moines, Iowa. Growing up Jeanette learned to play piano from her mother and then used that skill to receive dance lessons by playing piano for other dance classes. Jeanette was a graduate of North High School in Des Moines. She continued her education at Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls, University of Dubuque for a Bachelors of Arts in Education and English, and Drake University in Des Moines for a Masters Degree in Education, specializing in learning disabilities. In 1947 Jeanette was united in marriage to Vincent Dempewolf. Jeanette taught in schools in Bellevue, Andrew, and Des Moines, all in Iowa. Jeanette loved to dance and while in Bellevue, she taught dance lessons. She was a very dedicated wife, mother, and teacher. In 1981, she and Robert (Tim) Tangeman were married. Jeanette and Tim moved to Mesa, Arizona to help Tim’s parents in their final years. Jeanette and Tim then finally retired to Luverne, Minnesota. On Saturday, September 24, 2022, Jeanette died peacefully at the Good Samaritan - Mary Jane Brown Nursing Home in Luverne at the age of 96 years, 10 months, and 3 days.

Jeanette was a member of St. Catherine Catholic Church in Luverne and was a faithful participant on the Adoration Chapel schedule. She volunteered at the Sanford Luverne Hospital and in 2003, she and her husband Tim received the Distinguished Hospice Volunteers Award. In 2000 she was named Rock County Volunteer of The Year. She loved wordplay, puns, and  crossword puzzles, and was always ready with a funny response. Jeanette was a wizard at knitting and crocheting, and enjoyed teaching these skills to others. Jeanette enjoyed writing and wrote articles for local newspapers from time to time. She loved babies and children and they loved her, too. She would often end a conversation by saying, “If you do something dumb, don’t tell anybody!”, or some variation of this statement. More than anything, she loved her children and her step-children. She was very proud of having 13 children in all!

Left to cherish her memory are her sister, Kay; children, Peggy (Michael), Rita, Diane (Lee), Tom (Helen), Nancy (Phil), and Cathy (Tim); step-children, Tim, Fran, Dan, and Marc; 9 grandchildren, Sonia, Gabriele, Nora, Nina, Adam, Lexie, Tami, Christina, and Russell; 9 great-grandchildren, Violette, Christian, Noah, Graham, Henry, Holly, Beck, Dylan, David, and one on the way; 9 step-grandchildren, Sean, Danielle, Madison, Steven, Adam, Brady, Elizabeth, Kenneth, and Christopher; and 9 step-great-grandchildren, Cade, Paige, Brinlee, Hazel, Oaklee, Sidney, Henry, Lillian, and Coleman. She was preceded in death by her son, Joe; daughter, Eileen; step-son, Brad; grandson, Isaac; and husbands, Vincent Dempewolf (1993) and Tim Tangeman (2011).